Just a quick question about the lines at the airport leaving to come back to the states. We are staying at CSS in a couple of weeks and heard that the lines leaving Jamaica are terrible. Any thoughts ??????
Past experience??????

June 24th, 2010, 08:45 PM

Vickyj

Quote:

Originally Posted by notherz

Just a quick question about the lines at the airport leaving to come back to the states. We are staying at CSS in a couple of weeks and heard that the lines leaving Jamaica are terrible. Any thoughts ??????
Past experience??????

We have walked right up to the ticket counter and we have waited over an hour (US AIR) and we have had average waits. Immigration going out is about the same it can be long or it can be short. If short we have been at the airport with plenty of time to shop and eat after checking in and we have been to the airport with just enough time to grab a bite and get to the gate. It just depends and that is why Couples has you departing the resort several hours before departure. You need to be at the airport 2 1/2 to 3 hours prior to departure anyway.

June 24th, 2010, 09:32 PM

drbcwp

they can be really bad on w/e's.

We usually travel on Tuesday or Wednesday and usually on USAirways and the lines are not as bad.

I have been through on Saturday and it was unbelievable.

AJ and Delta were the worst.

That is why the resorts send you back to the airport about (4) hrs prior to your departure. But if you travel midweek you have time for check-in, shopping and a long lunch.

June 24th, 2010, 09:41 PM

giffie

you are going home,,,what's the rush

June 24th, 2010, 09:51 PM

Jimnmariann

There's nothing you can do about it. We found that the early morning hours were better than afternoon.

June 24th, 2010, 10:54 PM

amanda_1182

We were just there last week and got checked in and through security in 30-45 minutes. That was at around 10 am on a Saturday.

June 24th, 2010, 11:29 PM

Melea

No, leaving Jamaica isn't terrible, it's going through customs in the states that is terrible! We just got home last night and the lines were horrible -- that was in Charlotte! Have a great time at CSS!!! :)

June 25th, 2010, 01:01 AM

Tom-n-Lori

From past experience (4 times, and once with the OLD Sangster Int.) No worse than any other airport.

June 25th, 2010, 04:43 AM

me

getting in was worse than getting out for us.

June 25th, 2010, 02:57 PM

smoo72

You know, when we arrived at the airport in April, we looked at the line to get through security and immigration and wanted to cry. They were sooooo long. But they were constantly moving and we weren't in line more than a half hour. On initially seeing the line, it looked like a good hour or more wait. I was rather impressed. The same thing happened in arrival at immigration. The lines looked horrible, but they totally moved.

I don't know if the overhaul of the airport in the last few years has made them operate more efficiently overall, but it was a surprisingly smooth operation. I was impressed.

June 25th, 2010, 03:09 PM

ChrisNDeb

From our experience, yepper, you heard right. Check in wasn't bad as we printed our boarding passes at the resort and was able to skip ahead in that line. However, after that was looooooooong! I can't say how long it took us to get through the maze but CSA got us to the airport in plenty of time to get through, got a bite to eat, and chilled out before boarding. So, don't know if there is much that you can do to cut time other than printing your boarding pass before leaving the resort. I think this part was the dent in our trip but if you keep your eyes open you might spot a celeb or some type of ball player. We did but won't mention names.

June 25th, 2010, 03:16 PM

Joe&Missy

Lines At The Airport

We ahve been to CSS 6 times and never had a problem with any lines coming or leaving............have a great time and try SSB it's a blast.
Missy & Joe

June 25th, 2010, 03:24 PM

IACouple

Never seen them any worse than a larger US airport. I was in Seattle last month and the lines were way worse than anything I have seen in Jamaica.

Even customs in Jamaica is quicker and more efficient than in the US. No worries.

June 25th, 2010, 04:29 PM

BobandJudy

The lines are very dependent upon what time and day of the week you are returning back home. The weekends can be very busy. The worst lines tend to be at the airline check in. The security lines are not so bad in our experience over the past few years (maybe 15 minutes tops between customs and security).

I have seen some of the airline check-in lines run very long, sometimes close to an hour to check-in. Couples does a great job of getting you back to the airport with plenty of time to go through all of the lines.

June 25th, 2010, 05:23 PM

notherz

Thank you for all the info.....

We are flying American and get into Jamaica around 7:30 pm on a Thursday, and fly out on a Tuesday morning at 11:30 back to Miami, Florida.

Never been to either Miami or Montego Bay.....

June 25th, 2010, 06:01 PM

melody

We have always had long lines at security and immigration but moderate lines at the airline check-in desk. It really just depends on who else is there of course. It's not like you can say it will always be good in the morning or late afternoon or any specific time because there isn't a hard and fast rule like that.

June 25th, 2010, 06:23 PM

Vickyj

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisNDeb

From our experience, yepper, you heard right. Check in wasn't bad as we printed our boarding passes at the resort and was able to skip ahead in that line. However, after that was looooooooong! I can't say how long it took us to get through the maze but CSA got us to the airport in plenty of time to get through, got a bite to eat, and chilled out before boarding. So, don't know if there is much that you can do to cut time other than printing your boarding pass before leaving the resort. I think this part was the dent in our trip but if you keep your eyes open you might spot a celeb or some type of ball player. We did but won't mention names.

Were you doing carry ons only? Just wondering as you still have to check in even if you have your boarding pass if you have luggage to check.

June 25th, 2010, 06:38 PM

wileeandrr

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisNDeb

if you keep your eyes open you might spot a celeb or some type of ball player. We did but won't mention names.

I probably wouldn't know if I did spot one! lol

June 25th, 2010, 10:46 PM

Cubismo

We alway buy a few gifts and some coffee before heading to the airport, there have been times where long check in lines have left us no time to shop at the duty free stores. Usually, the earlier your departure time is the better off you'll be, as things tend to get a lot busier in the afternoon. If you are graced with extra time before your flight leaves, grab a bite to eat at the Island Grill and enjoy browsing through the many fine shops at the airport.

June 25th, 2010, 11:53 PM

dirtleg

In the past we have had varied experiences with the lines getting out of MBJ. Some years long waits, others have been quick and painless. One year we arrived only an hour before our flight was to take off. That was a bit harrowing, but we made it. This year was a bit different. The US Airways flight from Charlotte was delayed some three hours arriving, and thus our departure would have been way too late to make our connection in Charlotte back to STL. We spent an hour with the folks at US Air trying to find us another carrier to get us back home that same day. We wound up on Continental through Houston. We only had a one hour layover in Houston to clear customs and immigration, then back through security to board again for the connection back to STL. I was running through George Bush airport barefoot after clearing security and barely made our connecting flight, they had boarded and were ready to taxi when we go to the desk at the gate. I don't want to go through that again.

We got home OK, just a bit frazzled. But I did learn a lot about getting through an airport much faster than I had thought possible.

Anyway, Sangster is not any worse or better than most airports. A bit more primitive in their methods and equipment, but also efficient and mostly painless.

June 26th, 2010, 11:45 AM

Melea

I wanted to suggest as well - do online check in while you're at the resort. We were able to skip to the front of the line at MBJ because we did so (US Air). The red cap told us we had to wait in the long line but then someone from the airline came and got people out of line who had already checked in online. If you do the online check in, just ask someone who works for the airline once you get to where the desk is. It will save you a LOT of time!

June 26th, 2010, 04:09 PM

Mestralle

Weekends are going to be worse for obvious reasons traveling from a largely tourist destination. Also remember that many American carriers have flights to Montego Bay that only run on Saturdays or, less commonly, Saturdays and Sundays.

June 28th, 2010, 10:42 AM

Karon

How did you check-in and print your boarding passes from the resort? We are going back to CSA in Jan and I would really like to do this before we get to the airport. We there there in April and there was a lot of confusion about getting our boarding passes printed. I had trouble doing it at the kiosk in Sangster because we our e-tickets didn't have a bar code. So ended up having to stand in a line twice (once for the kiosk and once to see a ground agent). Then we had to go through the security and that line was almost an hour long. Made it in time to get on the plane but only had about 30 minutes to spare. That's too close for me and it cut into my shopping time.

This last trip we traveled on a Saturday. I don't think I'll do that again. Everything was too busy.

Karon

June 28th, 2010, 02:51 PM

Vickyj

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karon

How did you check-in and print your boarding passes from the resort? We are going back to CSA in Jan and I would really like to do this before we get to the airport. We there there in April and there was a lot of confusion about getting our boarding passes printed. I had trouble doing it at the kiosk in Sangster because we our e-tickets didn't have a bar code. So ended up having to stand in a line twice (once for the kiosk and once to see a ground agent). Then we had to go through the security and that line was almost an hour long. Made it in time to get on the plane but only had about 30 minutes to spare. That's too close for me and it cut into my shopping time.

This last trip we traveled on a Saturday. I don't think I'll do that again. Everything was too busy.

Karon

We stay at CTI and there is a printer in the Internet Cafe and we print there.

June 29th, 2010, 10:32 AM

nguc54t

Last year, we arrived at MJB around noon on Saturday and walked straight up to the Delta check-in desk, and straight through security. Everything was extremely efficient. The preceeding 2 years were a different story with long lines at check-in, but since the airport has been remodelled, they really have things running much better.